Can use of social media become an obsession?

The powers of social media are endless — promote an environmental cause, help people rally around those in need, share a humanitarian message until it goes viral. But social media also can breed addiction.

As Kaila Dickstein put it, “Social media can help us grow as individuals, make social change and impact our world. But it can also be destructive. Especially when (the user is) a young person.”

Dickstein has a doctorate in clinical psychology and is a certified school psychologist. She works in non-public schools of Philadelphia and also practices privately on the Main Line.

She said social media addiction is a real issue, and she believes that “society on a whole is addicted to social media usage … particularly the younger generation.”

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Today’s youth, she said, are “living the majority of their lives online.

“In the school system, rumors are spreading and gossip has taken on a whole new level. As a result, there is less interest in the truth and reality and more in how individuals see only themselves.

“Most kids coming out of college have no knowledge of how to behave on an interview,” Dickstein continued. “They’re checking their phones and answering calls during interviews. They have no concept of appropriate social interaction because with social media, everything is dictated by the individual. It’s about how I’m feeling, how I am, what’s my status update.”

A recent study conducted in Germany by The University of Chicago Booth School of Business found that the more than 200 adult subjects who wore devices to record their daily desires were more compulsive about checking email and social media accounts than they were with smoking cigarettes and drinking alcohol.

How can an avid social media user maintain active accounts while curbing the desire to constantly scroll through his Facebook newsfeed and incessantly Tweet? “It’s all about finding a healthy balance,” Dickstein said.

“I’m not saying social media is the enemy. You don’t want to cut yourself off from something that has the power to (inspire worldwide social change).”

A good way to keep your usage in check, Dickstein said, is to turn sedentary moments into opportunities to “experience the world in the third dimension.

“Get up and walk around. Go talk to another person,” she said.

Unless social media is part of your job, Dickstein continued, “You need to unplug during your day and look at (social media) as a recreational activity.”